The UK government has apologised for the treatment of Alan Turing that led to the suicide of computing’s founding genius — but calls for a posthumous pardon have been dismissed.
I recently wrote up my trip to visit the beyond-exceptional Bletchley Park here at Gizmodo. One of the key exhibits there relates to Alan Turing and his role in cracking the German Enigma machines; it’s a thrilling wartime story with a highly tragic ending, as Turing was prosecuted after the war for homosexuality and eventually committed suicide.
The BBC reports on the outcome of a recent appeal that sought to have his conviction posthumously pardoned; an online petition had gathered some 23,000 signatures, but it’s been dismissed in the UK House of Lords. The BBC reports on Justice Minister Lord McNally comments, which were as follows:
A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence. It is tragic that Alan Turing was convicted of an offence which now seems both cruel and absurd, particularly… given his outstanding contribution to the war effort.
However, the law at the time required a prosecution and, as such, long-standing policy has been to accept that such convictions took place and, rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times.
[BBC]
Mr. Draeger
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:19 PMI can see the logic, but it’s a nice gesture. Mr. Turing wouldn’t benefit at all. But, a nice small apology for driving a man to suicide through persecution isn’t really nice either. Even thought the time has passed, the government could still apologize and erase the criminality from his outstanding name and stack of good works. I bet he would have been glad at all the effort he put into saving the world from the Nazis if he knew this is how he would be treated.
Marcus
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:50 PMI don’t understand why the UK government constantly refer to his contribution to the war effort but ignore all his other contributions and discoveries. Yes, it helped win the war, but this man invented modern computing. Surely you could credit him as such.
Antonia
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 8:19 PMThe question is, why the UK government wanted to convict someone that was as important to them as Turing? My guess is that Turing did something in support of communism or slept with one of the royal family. Either way, with the war over, the near sighted rulers of the day had no more need for someone whose work, the importance thereof, they could never understand.
What if he lived and been able to continue the development of computing? Where would be today?
Blindwilly
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 8:31 PMIt was not just Turing that got dropped like a hot potato but the entire Bletchley Park crowd, the work they did and the machines they created. The Brits even destroyed those early ‘computers’ and hushed it all up until the 70s, leaving the Americans to build the computer industry.
Turing was probably prosecuted by people who didn’t know who he was and he couldn’t say anything because of the secrecy of his war time service.
A pretty shabby end to both Turing and the Brits chance to lead the world in tech post WW2.
Ed
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 8:51 PMEngland was fucking retarded after the war. They were many times bankrupt and they gave a up a chance to start the tech industry which is now worth trillions. They GIFTED the USSR a jet engine that allowed them to invade, expand and cause the deaths of countless millions. I for one am glad that horrible nation, that may have spread democracy the globe over but was also the nation that killed and subjugated most of the planets indigenous people.
Poor Turing was just one of many millions of people that country screwed over.
Pete
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 1:34 AMI thought it was that the jet engine was patented but then the British government wouldn’t provide money to develop it, the Germans saw it and developed it then later when the inventor finished it, their government pretty much threw the patent out so lots of companies could make it for the war effort. Basically the inventor got screwed over.
Only fair I look up his name, Frank Whittle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Whittle
Barry Cooper
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 11:00 PMI got this from a gay mathematician friend in the US:
i see that the House of Lords rejected the
pardon Feb 6 on what are formal grounds.
if law is X on date D, and you knowingly
break law X on date D, then you cannot be
pardoned (no matter how wrong or flawed
law X is).
the real reason is OBVIOUS. they do not
want thousands of old men saying pardon us
too.
i hope there is an appropriate hullabaloo
in the UK.
Cameron
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 8:26 AMPerhaps a better option would be to pardon ALL people convicted of that crime if it’s been recognised as “both cruel and absurd”. I’m sure Turing wasn’t the only person convicted of this “crime” back then, if it’s recognised now as something that was wrong, they should say so and pardon EVERYONE who was wronged by these laws.
olearymo
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 9:26 AMdoes this mean they would also refuse to pardon people burned as witches?
RobbyM
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 9:36 AMIf the Catholic Church can, after 400 odd years, admit that Galileo Galilei was actually correct and apologise for their treatment of him, the British Government can at least pardon Turing.
Interestingly – the British Government never hounded John Maynard Keynes for his sexual preferences but did Turing.
darylcheshire
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 4:51 PMan analogy is will all those people who went to Hell for eating meat on Friday be sprung when the rule was lifted?